About

The DDOT Bikeway layer provides locations for a variety of different types of bike facility types throughout Washington, DC. This wiki page provides background on the different types of bike facilities and how to use the DC Open Data layer (NEED LINK) for analysis.

Primary Bike Facility Types

Bike Lane Type	Field Name	Description/Values
Conventional Bike Lane	Bikelane_conventional	Painted, on-street dedicated space for biking. Bike lanes are typically 5-feet wide with a bicycle symbol and arrow in the direction of travel. There is no physical separation between the bike lane and the adjacent parking and/or travel lane. They are usually on both sides of a two-way road, and one side on a one-way road. OB - Outbound Side IB - Inbound Side BD - Both Directions (or, both sides)
Buffered Bike Lane	Bikelane_buffered	Painted, on-street dedicated space for biking with a simple painted buffer in between the bike lane and the adjacent through lane. This is a single-lane facility OB - Outbound Side IB - Inbound Side BD - Both Directions (or, both sides)
Buffered Dual Bike Lane	Bikelane_dual_buffered	Painted, on-street dedicated space for biking with a simple painted buffer in between the bike lane and the adjacent through lane. This is a two-lane facility OB - Outbound Side IB - Inbound Side BD - Both Directions (or, both sides)
Protected Bike Lane (PBL)	Bikelane_protected	A dedicated space for bicycling that is physically separated from automobile parking or traffic with posts, curbs or other type of vertical barrier. PBLs have various configurations: they can have lanes on both sides of a two-way road, one side of a one-way road, or two-way on one-way or two-way roads. They are typically 5-to-7 feet wide with a 1-to-3-foot buffer. The physical separation is located within the buffer zone. This is a single-lane facility OB - Outbound Side IB - Inbound Side BD - Both Directions (or, both sides)
Protected Dual Bike Lane (PBL)	Bikelane_dual_protected	A dedicated space for bicycling that is physically separated from automobile parking or traffic with posts, curbs or other type of vertical barrier. PBLs have various configurations: they can have lanes on both sides of a two-way road, one side of a one-way road, or two-way on one-way or two-way roads. They are typically 5-to-7 feet wide with a 1-to-3-foot buffer. The physical separation is located within the buffer zone. This is a two-lane facility OB - Outbound Side IB - Inbound Side BD - Both Directions (or, both sides)

Other Facility Types

Bike and Bus Lane

Dedicated lane shared by both cyclists and buses. Signs and markings indicate that it is a shared space for buses and bicycles to operate.

Climbing Lane

same as a bike lane; the difference is that there is a bike lane on the uphill side of the road, and a shared lane on the downhill side.

Shared Lane

Placed on roads that are not wide enough for bike lanes; they contain a bike symbol and chevron in the travel lane indicating that cars and bikes must share this space. They are sometimes accompanied by signs indicating that bicyclists may use full lane.

Shared Use Trail

An off-street pathway for bicycling and walking.

More information

For more information about the other roadway characteristics, please consult our primary data dictionary:

Roadway Characteristics

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